Why Tongues 3 Series

Title: Baptism of the Holy Ghost – 4

“Why Tongues – 3”

Text: Mark 16:17

Two weeks ago we started a series on “10 Reasons Why Every Believer Should Speak in Tongues.” First we learned that tongues is the initial sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost.

The second thing we learned is that tongues is for spiritual edification. I Corinthians 14:4; “He that speak in an unknown tongue edifies himself;” Another word for edification is to build up oneself, or to charge up like a battery. So, when you speak in tongues you are charging yourself up.

The third thing we learned concerning tongues is that it reminds us of the Spirit’s indwelling presence.

John 14:16-17; “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

I Corinthians 3:16; ¶ “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

II Timothy 1:14; “That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.”

The fourth reason why every believer should speak in tongues is because when we speak in tongues we are always praying in line with God’s perfect will for our lives. It is so easy to pray selfish prayers and prayers that are unscriptural, but when you pray in tongues there is no danger of that.

And the fifth reason why every believer should speak in tongues is because it stimulates our faith. It doesn’t increase our faith, it stimulates our faith, in other words, it stirs up our faith.

Jude 1:20; “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,”

So, today we are going to continue on the 10 reasons why every believer should speak in tongues.

VI. TONGUES IS A MEANS OF MAGNIFYING GOD

Acts 10 gives us another scriptural purpose for speaking in tongues: “It is a means by which we can magnify God.”

We need to look at the experience of Cornelius and his household when they received this supernatural experience.

Acts 10:45-46; “And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God.”

Notice that phrase in Verse 46: “speak with tongues and magnify God.” We know that the word “magnify” means to make something bigger. But can God be made bigger than what He already is? How in the world can God be any bigger then He is. From His standpoint, there is no way that God can be any bigger, He is already all powerful, He is already all knowing, He is already all seeing, how in the world could He get any bigger? In essence, He can’t! However, from our viewpoint, God can definitely become bigger or magnified to us. He can be made larger in our estimation. Speaking in tongues is one way that Jesus becomes bigger to us. For example:

When David fought against Goliath, do you really think he saw how big Goliath was? Absolutely not! He wasn’t looking through his natural eyes. At that point, he was seeing how big his God was. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David and he slew that giant. When we allow the Spirit to speak through us and work through us, Jesus gets bigger in our sight. He becomes magnified. The Spirit does not come down upon us any longer. Now the Spirit is on the inside of us. When you speak in tongues, Jesus becomes so much bigger to you.

When Gideon was facing a huge army with only 300 men, do you think that he saw the army that was loaded with weapons and outnumbered him thousands to one? Gideon just came out of the presence of the Lord and the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him and the only thing that Gideon could see was victory as he defeated those men. His God became much bigger then His enemy, because the Spirit of the Lord came upon him. When you are facing the enemies of life, you have to remember that you have the Holy Ghost on the inside of you and tongues reminds you of how big your God is, not how big your problems are.

When Joshua came to the walls of Jericho, do you think that he saw how big those walls were? Absolutely not! The Spirit of the Lord came upon Joshua and Joshua had a promise from the Lord that he would receive victory. He saw how big his God was; He didn’t see how big his enemy was.